'Goldmine' cafe in Sheffield's popular Botanical Gardens reopening with new operator

A cafe in a ‘goldmine’ location in Sheffield’s Botanical Gardens is set to reopen in spring after a new operator was found.
By David Walsh
Published 14th Feb 2023, 00:02 BST
Updated 14th Feb 2023, 13:33 BST

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The Curator’s House, by the entrance on Clarkehouse Road, will relaunch after a refurbishment starting in the next few weeks, Sheffield City Council has confirmed. The site closed in summer last year.

A spokeswoman added: “We’re really excited. Since Covid there has only been a takeaway offer to the public so we're really looking forward to having a fantastic new café opening its doors in the gardens very soon!”

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The Botanical Gardens are the jewel in the crown of Sheffield’s parks, featuring listed glasshouses, a bear pit and hundreds of rare plants and trees in its 19 acres. It is visited by thousands of people every year and hosts major events including a firework display, plays and concerts.

The Curator's House Cafe Bistro opened in 2013 and closed last year. It had a Tripadvisor rating of 2.5 out of five and was dogged by claims of slow service and poor hygiene. But many reviewers also spotted its amazing position - with no nearby rivals and vast numbers of visitors. One wrote that it had the ‘potential to be a goldmine’. The Parks department advertised for a new operator on a 10-year lease in March of last year and almost 12 months later it is set to come back to life.

Sheffield Botanical Gardens opened on June 29 1836 to great acclaim – more than 15,000 people visited over the first four days. In 1898, Sheffield Town Trust bought the property and opened the gardens to everyone for free. The conservatories and tea pavilion had fallen into disrepair and only the three domes could be rescued. In 1951, the Trust offered the gardens to Sheffield Council, for a peppercorn rent, on the understanding the council would manage them.

In 1984, the Friends of the Botanical Gardens, Sheffield was formed to encourage the pursuit of horticulture and raise funds. Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust was formed between the Trust, the council, Sheffield University’s landscape department, the friends and an application for Lottery cash submitted. The successful bid was announced in 1997, although the friends and gardens trust had to raise £1.25 million in matched funding.